1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved vacuum blanket adapted for pin registration and maintaining precise registration between an image sheet and a light sensitive sheet for reproduction of copies of the image sheet.
More particularly, the invention pertains to a new and unique vacuum blanket apparatus generally including a flexible vacuum blanket for biasing an image sheet and a light sensitive sheet toward a planar surface of a glass panel. The vacuum blanket is adapted for pin registration of the image sheet and the light sensitive sheet. The flexible blanket is formed with an elongated slot to accommodate a registration pin. Deformable pressure elements are carried in the blanket to fill the slot and bias the sheets toward the glass panel.
The vacuum blanket apparatus of the present invention is an improvement over the vacuum blanket and the registration pin system shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,935,773; and 4,967,230 which patents are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Background of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,230 and 4,935,773 disclose a registration system for light exposure apparatus and a vacuum blanket, respectively, which have been successful in producing high quality images at high production rates on an economic and efficient basis.